Cliff Lee shines as Philadelphia Phillies defeat San Francisco Giants 3-0 - MLB Update
Philadelphia Phillies’ starter, Cliff Lee had an outstanding day with the ball as he pitched his nine innings with an ERA of just 2.96 and gave the Phillies a 3-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park, San Francisco on August 4.
In the first inning, Jimmy Rollins drove a single-run shot towards right-centre but the rest of the batters did not back-up in a meaningful way as they failed to post runs. Similarly, the Giants’ centre-fielder Aaron Rowand singled off centre-field but Pablo
Sandoval was grounded out to third base. Jeff Keppinger hit a grounder into double play, short-stop to second to first and Rowand got out to second base.
Phillies’ batters struck two homers during the second inning to get a 2-0 lead. Hunter Pence homered (382 feet) and John Mayberry Jr. homered (392 feet) towards left-field. The pitchers had managed to control the runs from the third to eighth inning of the
game by tossing some extraordinary pitches in right line.
During the third inning, Giants’ catcher Chris Stewart singled off centre-field but Aubrey Huff fouled out to third base and Rowand was grounded out towards short-stop position. Phillies’ batters also missed some scoring chances and got out on their sloppy
shots. In the sixth inning, Shane Victorino hit a single run shot towards right-field while at the right-field, Placido Polanco flied out and Rollins popped out.
Giants missed some scoring opportunities in the eighth inning. Huff singled off right-field but Stewart flied out to left-field and Rowand struck-out looking. Andres Torres reached towards third base on an infield single but the inning went score-less. Lee
presented seven hits and struck-out eight batters on his 106 pitches.
Lee said, “That's in the past. We just want to win every series. Getting the first game means you're in better shape. It's August, still the middle of the season. We want to stay in a groove and keep winning.”
Phillies’ manager, Charlie Manuel stated, “The game was all about pitching and good defence on both sides. After the two home runs Bumgarner was really good.”
In the ninth inning, the Phillies got a 3-0 lead when Pence singled off centre-field and Victorino added the last run. However, the Phillies confirmed a 1-0 lead in the four-game series played at AT&T Park.
Tags: